Hi every one,
So, I wanted to discuss something very close to my heart in todays blog. Most will know I'm a big advocate for women’s health, both psychologically and medically. Especially on the issue of infertility because it cuts across both areas I'm interested in.
Yeah, I know this post should probably have come much earlier. But, I had a very heart felt discussion with an older Indian lady today and we literally cried together. I felt her pain and sorrow. She told me she has basically stopped attending other peoples weddings, and ceremonies. She said its because, every time she attends a wedding she comes back in tears. People would always say things like “ahhh…how many years now” or “I remember when I came to your own wedding, its been a while ohh ” or “when are we coming to celebrate with you guys again” and lots more. I mean c'mon, ...nosy much?
When you think of an infertile couple, somehow, you know in your heart of hearts that they must be going through a lot of stress, emotionally and physically. For something that comes so naturally to others, they have to spend a lot of time, energy and in most cases, lots of money to get the same thing. A good place to start to combat the infertility segregation is within ourselves. We need to change our perspective of infertility and stop seeing it as a niche disorder. Meaning, the separation, and most times verbal and non-verbal torture we consciously or unconsciously meet out to these couples or individuals needs to stop.
Such statements may actually seem like nothing, especially to someone, who is either pregnant or has already had a child. Then (as always) you justify it by saying “c’mon, they cant possibly take that personal”, but it certainly hurts. We need to realise that the situation they are in, is really not for lack of trying. As a nigerian saying goes "its condition that makes the cray-fish bend".
Statistics from the WHO show that more than 80 million couples in developing countries suffer from one form of infertility or the other (yeah, there are types). However, "statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off". We tend to forget that every infertile couple has a story to tell. Organisations, and even us as individuals put so much care and emphasis on other issues we tend to consider more important like Malaria, HIV, Abortions, and even maternal mortality (which isn't bad), but very little is targeted towards infertility. Fortunately, some organisations have been established that address the issue of infertility solely such as "The walking egg" and some others. Its certainly a good start, but we truly need more.
So, guys this is just my little contribution towards the issue. I have to stop here for now, b'cos I can certainly go on and on. But my little take home message is......lets be a little more considerate in our words, thoughts and deeds towards these people. As we progress, ill still let you know the types, issues, myths, and contributing factors concerning infertility, and we can certainly address some in more detail.
But always remember to.....LOVE YOURSELF!!
So, I wanted to discuss something very close to my heart in todays blog. Most will know I'm a big advocate for women’s health, both psychologically and medically. Especially on the issue of infertility because it cuts across both areas I'm interested in.
Yeah, I know this post should probably have come much earlier. But, I had a very heart felt discussion with an older Indian lady today and we literally cried together. I felt her pain and sorrow. She told me she has basically stopped attending other peoples weddings, and ceremonies. She said its because, every time she attends a wedding she comes back in tears. People would always say things like “ahhh…how many years now” or “I remember when I came to your own wedding, its been a while ohh ” or “when are we coming to celebrate with you guys again” and lots more. I mean c'mon, ...nosy much?
When you think of an infertile couple, somehow, you know in your heart of hearts that they must be going through a lot of stress, emotionally and physically. For something that comes so naturally to others, they have to spend a lot of time, energy and in most cases, lots of money to get the same thing. A good place to start to combat the infertility segregation is within ourselves. We need to change our perspective of infertility and stop seeing it as a niche disorder. Meaning, the separation, and most times verbal and non-verbal torture we consciously or unconsciously meet out to these couples or individuals needs to stop.
Such statements may actually seem like nothing, especially to someone, who is either pregnant or has already had a child. Then (as always) you justify it by saying “c’mon, they cant possibly take that personal”, but it certainly hurts. We need to realise that the situation they are in, is really not for lack of trying. As a nigerian saying goes "its condition that makes the cray-fish bend".
Statistics from the WHO show that more than 80 million couples in developing countries suffer from one form of infertility or the other (yeah, there are types). However, "statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off". We tend to forget that every infertile couple has a story to tell. Organisations, and even us as individuals put so much care and emphasis on other issues we tend to consider more important like Malaria, HIV, Abortions, and even maternal mortality (which isn't bad), but very little is targeted towards infertility. Fortunately, some organisations have been established that address the issue of infertility solely such as "The walking egg" and some others. Its certainly a good start, but we truly need more.
So, guys this is just my little contribution towards the issue. I have to stop here for now, b'cos I can certainly go on and on. But my little take home message is......lets be a little more considerate in our words, thoughts and deeds towards these people. As we progress, ill still let you know the types, issues, myths, and contributing factors concerning infertility, and we can certainly address some in more detail.
But always remember to.....LOVE YOURSELF!!
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